Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2012

Fair Value Measurements

Note 4. Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy is based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value. A description of the three levels of inputs is as follows:

• Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

• Level 2 – Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

• Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 30, 2012 and April 1, 2012 are as follows:

	Fair Value Measurements Using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(In thousands)
December 30, 2012
Cash and cash equivalents	$	99,087	$	769	$	—	$	99,856
Marketable securities:
U.S. government and agency securities		133,557		—		—		133,557
Corporate debt obligations		—		178,173		—		178,173
Mortgage-backed securities		—		51,283		—		51,283
Municipal bonds		—		31,712		—		31,712
Other debt securities		—		602		—		602
		133,557		261,770		—		395,327
	$	232,644	$	262,539	$	—	$	495,183
April 1, 2012
Cash and cash equivalents	$	162,266	$	2,250	$	—	$	164,516
Marketable securities:
U.S. government and agency securities		141,859		—		—		141,859
Corporate debt obligations		—		167,668		—		167,668
Asset and mortgage-backed securities		—		46,594		—		46,594
Municipal bonds		—		16,568		—		16,568
Other debt securities		—		750		—		750
		141,859		231,580		—		373,439
	$	304,125	$	233,830	$	—	$	537,955

The Company’s investments classified within Level 2 were primarily valued based on valuations obtained from a third-party pricing service. To estimate fair value, the pricing service utilizes industry-standard valuation models, including both income and market-based approaches for which all significant inputs are observable either directly or indirectly. The Company obtained documentation from the pricing service as to the methodology and summary of inputs used for the various types of securities. The pricing service maximizes the use of relevant observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. These observable inputs include reported trades and broker/dealer quotes of the same or similar securities, issuer credit spreads, benchmark securities and other observable inputs. The Company compares valuation information from the pricing service with other pricing sources to validate the reasonableness of the valuations.